Designer Launch Party flourishes with promise for spring FACS Fashion Show

• The FACS Fashion Show announces that the Spring 2018 theme will be “Flourish: Fashion in Full Bloom.”
• Fashion Show intends to provide a current show for fashion and design students and a chance to network in the industry.

 

Student fashion designers spanning age, gender and major all gathered in the Grand Lobby of DeMoss Hall Thursday, Sept. 28, for the Designer Launch Party hosted by Liberty’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). The theme of the 12th Annual FACS Fashion Show—slated for April 7, 2018— was revealed to the designers’ anticipation.

 

Tables in the lobby were decked in floral arrangements and pastel-colored pastries. Liberty senior Savannah Griffin, director of this year’s fashion show, took to the podium in a crisp white blouse and floral palazzo pants to announce the spring show’s theme—“Flourish: Fashion in Full Bloom.”

 

The theme focuses on flowers and seasons, and was inspired partly by the emergence of floral spring collections in the corporate world of fashion. The personal inspiration found in nature and the design flexibility it allowed in planning the show made it an ideal theme choice, according to Griffin.

 

“Think of the endless inspirations being pulled from the beautiful scenery around us: like sunflowers in the summer, leaves in the fall, deep green pines in the winter and the beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring,” Griffin read from the new designer handbook as copies were passed among the designers.

 

“I love going to botanical gardens,” Griffin said. “They’re so ethereal and majestic. I want to have an event here where people feel like they’re somewhere else. I want it to be green and lush.”

 

Griffin said that the show has burgeoned in interest and attendance over the years. More than 1,400 attendees showed up to the fairy tale-themed fashion show last year, and many had to be turned away for lack of space. That challenged Griffin to expand the show’s horizons.

 

“I want our runway show in 2018 to be very current,” Griffin said. “I don’t want the show to look like a college show. I want it to look like you’re walking into New York Fashion Week. I want it to look very upscale, modern and thought-through. I want to use materials that we have every day but don’t use all the time. I want to do a lot with our small budget.”

 

But the upgrade doesn’t stop at décor. Griffin intends to bring on a panel of judges from or with corporate ties to the fashion world. The hiring and internship potential in these connections is a crucial element to Griffin’s vision.

 

“Sometimes I feel like the designers don’t have the connections necessary to make it in the world of fashion,” Griffin said. “It’s a competitive industry. I want to focus a lot on finding judges that will be good networking possibilities for our designers.”